Plait holder



July-15.. 1924.-

M. DWOIRIN PLAIT HOLDER Filed Oct. 4. 1923 Patented July 15, 1924.

UNETED STATES MAX DWOIRIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PLAIT HOLDER.

Application filed 0ctober4, 1923. Serial No. 666,609..

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX DWOIRIN, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plait Holders, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to hold in position the plaits of a skirt or similar garment while the same is being ironed, and thereby to reduce the labor required for such ironing.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board with my device attached thereto and holding in position, at the lower end of a skirt, a part of the plaits of such skirt, ready for ironing; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my device attached to an ironing board showing all of the parts of my device in the position occupied by them at the moment when a skirt has been released from the grip of my device; and Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the individual plait-holding arms of my device and the parts connected to such arm.

Referring to the drawings, my device consists of a baseplate 10, designed to lie flat on an ironing board 30, and provided with flanges 11 and 12, into which are threaded suitable thumb-screws 13, adapted for clamping plate 10 to an ironing board 30. On rod 14, removably inserted in loops 15, which are formed preferably integral with plate 10, there are mounted, between loops 15, individual plait-holding arms 16, having their forward ends preferably formed into square plates 17 in such a manner that when all of arms 16 are pushed down onto ironing board 30, plates 17 will closely adjoin each other, so as to form a continuous row, as shown in Fig. 1. lwidway between plates 17 and rod 14 each of levers 16 is bent upward so as to form an arch 18, and is also provided with a slot 19. Through each slot 19 a keeper 20 projects upward which is provided with teeth 21 and carries an extension spring 22, the lower end of which is in some suitable manner attached, under tension, to corresponding lever 16 near its plate 17. All of keepers 20 are hingedly mounted on plate 10, preferably by means of a rod 23, removably inserted in suitable loops 24:, preferably formed integral with plate 10. Teeth 21 and spring 22 are so arranged that as each plate 17 is pushed down, the forward edge of slot 19 of the lever 16 of which such plate 17 forms a part, is engaged by teeth 21 so that finally such lever is held in position by the lowest tooth 21 past which the forward edge of slot 19 has been moved. For the purpose of releasing arms 16, ahorizontal bar 25 is pro vided'which extends in front of the upper ends of all of levers 20. This bar is carried by supports 26 which are hingedly mounted on rod 23, and the central one of which is provided with a handle 27. Suitable lugs 28, preferably integral with plate 10, are provided to limit the forward movement of supports 26.

My device is primarily intended for the ironing of skirts in which plaits have al ready been formed, but in which such plaits have been more or less spoiled by washing,

cleaning, getting wet, etc. With such skirts 3 my device is operated as follows My device is placed on an ironing board 30, near one end thereof, with plate 10 cross-wise of the board, and is attached thereto by thumb-screws 13. The skirt is then drawn over the free end of the ironing board, until its lower end is brought up against plate 10 and under plates 17. As many plaits as practicable are then folded,

one by one, underneath plates 17, and as fast as they are formed, plates 17 are pushed firmly down upon them, against the pull of springs 22, with the result that springs 22 automatically pull forward keepers 20 and cause their teeth to engage the forward edges of slots 19, thereby keeping plates 17 pressed firmly down on the plaits and thus holding the plaits in position. As soon as this is done, the skirt is drawn taut at its opposite end, where the plaits are stitched together into a belt or similar device, and is there placed under a heavy weight 31 to hold it in position. The port-ion of the skirt thus held in position on the surface of the ironing board may then be ironed by the operator'without the assistance of any other person, and may be ironed quicker and to better advantage than where an assistant is holding the lower end of the skirt, as is done under the prevailing practice.

It is evident that a similar method might be followed in forming the plaits in a skirt for the first time, though that, at present, is done for the most part by other machinery.

As soon as the ironing of the clampeddown portion of the skirt is completed,

handle is pulled backward against keepers 20, so. as to release the forward edges of all slots 19 from teeth 21 and thereby to cause all of plates 17. to. be. pulled upward by springs 22. As soon as this has been done, handle 27 is Pushed forward again until supports 26 rest against lugs 28, thereby moving bar 25 a suflieient distance forward to permit plates 17 to be again pulled down, upon a new series of plaits without interference, of bar 25 with the upper ends of keepefsQO.

It is obvious that my device might be:

modified in many particulars without departing from the essentials of my invention. All such modifications I intend to cover by my claims.

I claim:

1. In a plait-holder, the combination of a frame adapted to be attached to an; iron ing boardi,v with a series of plait-ho'l'din-g arms, carried by the frame; means; for clamping plaits of a garment in posrtion by means of saidarms; and means; for releasing substantially simultaneously all of said arms from clamping position.

2., In a. plaith.older, the combination of a frame adapted to be attached to an ironing board, with a series of arms hingedly attached to the frame and each adapted to a frame with a series of plait-holding arms hingedlyattached to the frame; toothed keepers and springs attached to. the keepers and arms, to; hold the arms inclamping position; and meansv for releasing, substam tially simultaneously, all of said arms from clamping position.

MAX. nwomm. 

